There are now a good two dozen films that commemorate the loss of life with the events of 9/11, but we haven’t had many cinematic examples of the sense of loss from the tsunamis of 04′. A sophomore effort from Thai filmmaker Aditya Assarat has been collecting film festival recognition, first in Pusan and then in Rotterdam and Screen Daily reports that Kino International has landed up the U.S. rights to Wonderful Town.
Assarat is a grad from USC who first made an impression with his Sundance film festival short Motorcycle and was lucky enough to be among those to benefit from the Sundance Institute Filmmakers and Screenwriters Labs where he was paired with Mira Nair in 04′.
His latest takes takes place in a small town in the South of Thailand. It is a town of sadness. Ever since the tsunami, people have lost their jobs. There is nothing to do every day. Young people ride motorcycles around in circles. Old people remember better times in the past. One day a stranger comes to town. His name is Ton. He is an architect. He rents a room in a small hotel owned by Na, the town daughter. They begin to have a secret love affair but soon people start to whisper. The town has found their enemy now. This film is about a love that grows where there is no more love, like a flower that grows in the dirt. And about a town that tries to destroy the beauty that it cannot have for itself. Can a town be wonderful again?